I did some research on the Internet today to find out how Advent originated. There’s no clear timeline when the ritual of Advent became popular, but it has been credited to the Catholic Church, most likely with Pope St. Gregory the Great in the 6th Century. The practice of the Advent Calendar came later with the […]

A few days ago, I made up a list of some of my thoughts about Christmas. The big one was how behind I was, which I remedied last weekend by settling down and finishing gifts that I was making and ordering things that needed to be ordered. But the rest of my list is less […]

At the end of October, I wrote about planning ahead for the Christmas holidays. So how is this North Pole elf doing? Not very good. Maybe Santa will fire me and I can go back to bed. Ha! I’d hoped by Thanksgiving to have my annual letter drafted and photos chosen. I also wanted to get the […]

Let’s see – here’s my Thanksgiving check-off. I’ve included highlights of some recipes that I’ve used in the past (and they tasted great). Turkey – thawing (yes, use all the pepper called for in here) – CHECK Cranberry relish – done (if made ahead or frozen, leave the walnuts until right before ready to serve) […]

I can’t believe we’re already into the end of October and Christmas is only two months from today. It’s hard to already be welcoming the holidays, but it’s easier to start working on them now so as to enjoy them when they come. A favorite book of mine is Unplug the Christmas Machine by Jo Robinson & […]

In my varied readings, the question was posed – what is the most valuable thing that you own? Not the most valuable thing that you have, but that you own. I think for me, the most valuable thing I own are my job skills. I’d written recently about my grandfather urging the cousins to have […]

My favorite boy toy has always had a sense of humor (at the end of this link, I told one of his jokes). At the time I thought it was shameful that he acted that way, but all these years later it’s pretty funny to look at this Christmas picture from when we were newly […]

It’s always funny to look back at the different hairstyles I’ve worn – some are pretty good, some are okay, and others are pretty funny. When my Mom turned 70, my sister and I worked together on a photo album for her. One of the things we did was all her hairstyles over the year. […]

My husband and brother-in-law love their jokes, often dragging my sister into them. She gives it back pretty good too. One Christmas, she sassed her favorite boy toy one time too many. Since I had the camera aimed at her, he decided to wrap his hands around her neck. She immediately started yelling, making him laugh even harder. Catching […]

It is no small feat to develop and keep rituals in our lives. On the other hand, rituals need to change and evolve as our lives evolve. At some time during college, my sister and I developed a ritual of going into downtown Chicago the Friday after Thanksgiving. Our purpose was to see the Christmas […]

For many years, as the gift opening started to wind down, my nephew would fall asleep on the floor. I have quite a few pictures over the years of him doing this. Some years his cousin (my daughter) is sleeping a few feet away. There was something about the excitement of the day, the gifts, the […]

Casting (from Wiktionary) – A manufacturing process using a mold. Manufacturing is intended to be a repeatable process with consistent results. That’s the whole purpose of casting molds. Of course, molds can also be used as the jumping off point for creativity, fun, and a big old mess, complete with laughter and little show-offs. These “molds” were […]

Lacking (from Wiktionary) – A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want. This year for Valentine’s Day, I made up cards on Shutterfly for various members of my family. My theme was that we were rich in the things that counted – we were lacking for nothing. I made one up […]

Cook (from Wiktionary) – To prepare (food) for eating by heating it, often by combining it with other ingredients. This is one of my very favorite pictures of my daughter and my nephew from Christmas several years ago. My daughter loves to try new recipes and she outdid herself with the Christmas meal that year. […]

No (from Wiktionary) – Not any possibility or allowance of (doing something). I think this photo says it all. It is numbered immediately before the husband’s laughing. I don’t remember what was being said “NO” so eloquently, but I have no doubt this is what set off the husband’s to laugh so hard. Word for tomorrow – […]

Join the challenge! For more information, click the tab marked “challenge invitation“. Laugh – An expression of mirth particular to the human species (from Wiktionary). Take two bored husbands, the Christmas holidays, and a pair of sassy sisters, and eventually someone starts laughing, infects the other one and now both are laughing to no end. Word for tomorrow […]

Join the challenge! Post a picture to match the word of the day and put a link in the comments. You’ll be amazed at how differently the word gets interpreted. Map (from Wikipedia) – A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, […]